Gwendolen Chant is a character in Diana Wynne Jones' book Charmed Life, and she's horrible. There's also another horrible Gwendolen in Enid Blyton's Malory Towers series (actually Gwendoline Mary). Consequently, I don't like the name much.

― Anonymous User 11/16/2007

I really like this spelling of the name. Gwendolyn is pretty, too, but I prefer Gwendolen. Also, Gwen is a pretty diminuitive.

In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, Gwendolen is a queen who goes to war with her husband after he betrays her for another woman. She wins, buries her dead husband, kills the other woman and the woman's daughter, and proceeds to rule with wisdom and kindness. Some Arthurian legends also give Merlin a wife named Gwendolen. I love this name, though I prefer it spelled -lyn rather than -len. I'm a sucker for Gwen names.

I really like this name, whether it's spelled Gwendolen or Gwendolyn. It's beautiful and feminine and classic, and it makes me think of a beautiful character that you would find in a whimsical fairy tale. I hate the nickname Gwen, though. It makes my skin crawl!

― Anonymous User 10/25/2010

I love this name and other "Gwen" names! And I think Gwen is a good nickname, but Wendy could be cute, too.

I certainly have a soft spot for Welsh names, "Gwendolen" being on the list. While, no, I do not believe it to be the most pleasing to the ear, it still possesses an odd classic, old-world, cosmopolitan charm that I respect. I would never choose it for my child (of course, if I were married my spouse would have some say in it)... there is something about the "-dolen" that throws me off horribly (as I said: lacks desirability to the ear).

As stated before, there was a character named Gwendolen in Oscar Wilde's play 'The Importance Of Being Earnest'. Her full name was Gwendolen Fairfax.

― Anonymous User 7/31/2013

This is a beautiful name. (Also Gwendolyn, a variant of this name, is the name of the brilliant writer Gwendolyn Brooks. I first heard the name Gwendolyn when we were analyzing one of her poems.) If I have a daughter, I will name her Gwendolen in a heartbeat.

― Anonymous User 2/10/2014

Like the meaning, and it sounds good if you actually pronounce the last syllable to rhyme with hen, but that takes effort for speakers of American English, who want to just say the generic unstressed vowel sound. So it becomes another name ending in "lyn\". Blah

I love this name so much. I have a thing for vintage, Victorian/Edwardian names. Plus, Oscar Wilde is one of my favorite authors. I like the -en ending better than the -yn ending, It flows better when you write it by hand in my opinion. When I hear the name Gwendolen I think of a pretty young British woman with long dark hair and pale skin. I think the names Gwendolen Rose, Gwendolen Iris, Gwendolen Victoria, Gwendolen Ava and Gwendolen Alexandra are all very pretty.

If Gwen means white, fair or blessed, and dolen means ring, circle or bow, then the meanings can be any combination of these. I do however like the moon association, with white circle or white ring, as there is often a halo around the light of the full moon, which is also sometimes more of a gold colour. Speaking of gold, the term white ring firstly made me think of my wedding ring, a white-gold band, a symbol of unity and completion/ the circle of eternal love. As far as meanings go, this is not a bad one!

― Anonymous User 10/15/2015

Most websites list the meaning as "white brow". So it would be perfect for a blondie, or a pale skin, or even white eyebrows! Being fair of brow can also be an expression meaning "beautiful" as in fair of face and fairness/prettiness.